Netflix and the Weinstein Company's plan to premiere Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend simultaneously on the streaming network and in IMAX theaters next year has already met a formidable foe: The major U.S. theater chains, who are vowing to fight the unprecedented release strategy.

The two entertainment entities, who already had a partnership in place for movies and TV, announced Monday that Green Legend would become Netflix's first original movie when it debuts Aug. 28, 2015.

The news comes nearly one year after Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said theater owners were hindering innovation in the industry. At the time, Sarandos mentioned he'd like to see "big" films stream on Netflix on the same day they are released in theaters.

Whether Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2 is a "big" release is debatable — the in-production sequel doesn't carry much star power, let alone original Crouching director Ang Lee. But American theater owners aren't taking any chances with what they see as a slippery slope.

A spokesperson for The National Theater Owner's Association told Mashable it is letting their members address this strategy. Representatives for top theater chains Regal, Cinemark and Carmike told Variety that they'll refuse to screen the Netflix "original" because they don't participate in "day-and-date" releases, which have become commonplace for smaller-budget independent films.

Mark Cuban, one of the early pioneers and advocates of these day-and-date releases through his Landmark Theatres and Magnolia Pictures chains, told Mashable in a tweet that it "only took about 8 yrs :) the key question is whether or not any other chains follow IMAX lead."

The problem is that a large chunk of the nation's more than 400 IMAX screens are under the control of the major theater chains who are refusing to play ball, much like they did when Universal announced — and ultimately bailed on — plans to do a day-and-date release with the Ben Stiller comedy Tower Heist a few years ago.

Netflix, which notably has disrupted the TV industry with originals such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, jumped into the movie game in 2013 with two documentary-film acquisitions, one of which (The Square) earned Netflix its first Oscar nomination.

The Green Legend, which is shooting in New Zealand, is the sequel to Lee's Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from 2000. The martial-arts flick will star Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen, Harry Shum Jr., Jason Scott Lee, Eugenia Yuan and Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

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